Interviews

7 Steps to English Proficiency 

Rev. Bro. Bancha Saenghiran,f.s.g., Ph.D President of Assumption University Message from the President “Learning how to learn is the essence of becoming a learned person.”  English has become the new world language. So to become a universal learning one must become fluent in both understanding English and expressing one's ideas in English. To master the language,students must come into contact with it daily. They must learn new word each day in a natural context. Masterful students know how to “do first thing first” and become expert users of English. Laying a strong foundation in English skills is the best way to assure further success. Good fortune does not come easily. Our school motto reminds us that we have to work hard to achieve success.“Labor Omnia Vincit” should be your motto.

Introduction Imitation is a new born child's way of learning its mother's tongue in a natural way. A newborn babyfirst imitates its mother in the language communicated. The ability of a child to communicate to others remains latent till it is developed through daily observation and use. Every minute of the hour, every hour of the day, and every day of the year, that child observes, listens and mumbles so as to learn the language of its mother. This is the first school a child goes through. The teaching methodology is natural and it is one of the best means employed  in teaching English to learn the four skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. To really master four skills, this natural method can be fostered. A child is always with its mother, and imitates the way she uses the language. A child observes, listens, and records what has been heard. Then, he proceeds to imitate what he observes and listens.

STEP : 1 

 Reading

Reading Read one passage a day! 

Choose the passage from a piece of English literature, book or magazine you like. Try to master three to five new words a day. Write those new words down in a notebook in the contexts you find them to make sure you understand the meanings and you know how to use them in sentences. Do observe sentence structure. Begin slowly, bit by bit, to read short passages. Read longer passages as you gain more experience. Do review new words you wrote down from time to time and use them in your

STEP: 2 

Listening

Listening Watch a movie on TV

Watch and listen to news or news broad-cast on radio or television. Find a movie or a TV show you like, in English, and study it scene by scene. Spend at least 15 minutes each time listening to an English program on TV beginning with news from CNN, BBC, CNBC, etc. Learn to be patient with yourself and try to understand the dialogue without needing to read subtitles. 

Keep working… 

STEP: 3 

Reading aloud!

Reading aloud! Read aloud one passage a day.

Read one passage aloud from an English text. Try to put proper intonation imitating what you heard from English sound track on TV or radio program. Keep working till you sound more and more like an English native speaker. You can also occasionally listen to yourself by tape-recording your voice or request other person to comment on it. 

 STEP: 4 

Writing

Writing Write one passage a day.

If you have free time, with a pen and a sheet of paper, try to give yourself practice in writing. You can write on any topic beginning with an easy topic relating your daily life. Increase the level of difficulty and also the length of your essay each day. Try to think in English and write in English. Make writing in English a regular habit so that it comes naturally. To make sure that your writing is correct; you must request someone who knows English well to review your writing and to point out mistakes and help you correct the sentences. You must learn from your mistakes but try not to repeat mistakes again. From time to time, compare your present writing to the previous ones to see its improvement. 

STEP: 5 

Speaking and Speech Delivery

Speaking and Speech Delivery Prepare your own speech and deliver it!

This exercise will enable you to write and speak. First, you have to write your speech on any topic of your choice. Make use of the same procedure as in Step 4. Once you have speech ready, then, you try to give yours. If a training in delivering that speech. Be careful not to learn the passage by heart. It is better to remember the key ideas in sequence. Deliver your speech in front of a mirror pretending that you have a large audience before you. Practice twice or thrice or more to acquaint yourself with speech delivery. If possible, you can tape record your speech so that it can be replayed on TV screen. You can observe your performance and you can improve on it. 

STEP: 6 

Learn English from your daily life 

Be inquisitive!

You will come across many new words or phrases each day when you move from one place to the other. The word may be from a signboard, advertisement, newspaper, magazine, posters, etc. Pick up words that interest you and master those words. If you come across these words often, you will absorb these words as a part of your vocabulary unknowingly. In this way, you can sustain your passion for English. 

STEP: 7 Presentation

Do your own presentation at least once or twice a semester or you can prepare paper presentation and deliver it to a class at least once a semester. You have to prepare contents and put it in an essay form. To make content preparation easier, you can summarize the contents from a book, passage from a newspaper, etc. Then, learn to present your work in front of a mirror pretending there is an audience listening to you. Conclusion: Find opportunity to put all the skills in your daily practice. You do not need to spend too long a period of time. Be steady. With self-discipline, you can attain English proficiency through self-study.

 Follow the general saying: Think big ( aim high ) start small but expand fast.